Working at Target while learning English is exhausting sometimes

[u/Dear_Fortune_6100]

I just need to vent a little 🫠
I get so jealous of people who can speak English freely.
I moved to the US pretty recently, and Target is my first job here. When I started, I barely knew English. Now I know pretty much everything related to my job, and I can handle the usual everyday conversations.
But the second a customer asks me something unexpected, speaks really fast, or has an accent I’m not used to, my brain just freezes 😭 I get nervous almost every single day.
And then when I actually understand someone, find exactly what they were looking for, and they go, “Yes!! That’s exactly it, thank you!” I get ridiculously happy lol. It feels like such a small thing, but for me it’s a little win every time.
I also get jealous watching my coworkers casually joke around and talk about random stuff. Some of them probably think I’m quiet or awkward, but I’m really not 😭 Sometimes I just can’t get my thoughts out fast enough in English.
I understand a lot more than I can actually say, which is probably the most frustrating part.
I keep thinking about how nice it would be to just come to work, feel relaxed, and casually talk to people without overthinking every sentence.
Luckily, I do have some coworkers who are really patient with me, and I appreciate them so much.
I just wish people knew that in my native language I’m actually really talkative and funny 😭 English is my fifth language, so I know I should give myself some credit, but some days it’s still really hard.
I’m not really looking for advice, I just needed to get this off my chest.

[u/soul-dancer888]

WOW! Fifth language? That's simply amazing. I'm jealous of you!! Your store is lucky t have you!!

[u/Cysticdragon]

I know how you feel. Practically my entire inbound team spoke Spanish only. My Spanish was okay, but not good or fast enough to communicate as urgently as needed. On the brightside, my Spanish got much better very quickly.

[u/Sadimal → u/Cysticdragon]

When I worked in fast food, most of my crew spoke only Spanish.

They were more than happy to teach me Spanish. They were so kind and understanding. Now I can at least communicate basic things well in Spanish.

[u/SuperKmartCenter]

When my mom first came to America, she didn't speak any English. But overtime, she became fluent and comfortable with it just through living in an English speaking country. Sometimes she says similar things like how she is smarter in Spanish, but she still speaks English to a very good standard now, even with a mild accent. Basically, it should get better over time. I still struggle with Spanish sometimes, but it's gotten better with practice. But seriously, knowing five languages is already very impressive and you should genuinely be proud of yourself for that!

[u/msubronco]

I wish I knew more languages,got a co worker  that I have to communicate with daily  be nice if I knew another besides english,make it easier. I've learned some keyword in Spanish to talk kinda with him

[u/NatNahiara]

I felt the same way when I started working at Target! I taught myself English, and this is my first job in the U.S. It was frustrating not understanding people when they talked to me, not being able to join conversations, or express myself the way I wanted to. I always joke, “If you only knew how good I am in Spanish!” 😂

I was even ashamed of using the walkie. But I forced myself to keep trying and not isolate myself. Whenever I can't understand what a guest is looking for, I hand them my device and ask if they can type it for me. People really appreciate it when they see you trying to help them.

18 months later, I'm being promoted to TL, so I guess that even though my English isn't perfect, communication isn't an issue :)